Monthly Archives: August 2020

Why have eight new England Patriots opted out of the NFL season?

With the new NFL season just weeks away, the New England Patriots have lost an eighth player to the opting out fever that has swept through American Football.

In an era dominated by the global Coronavirus pandemic, the clash between players, officials and the U.S. Government over preparations for NFL to return has spilled over into the NFL pre-season. This weekend, New England Patriots tight end Matt LaCosse became the eighth player of the New England Patriots to opt out of the forthcoming NFL season.

While not perhaps as headline-grabbing as other withdrawals, 27-year-old LaCosse will be a big miss for the Patriots, following as he does in the walk-out footsteps of Dont’a Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Patrick Chung, Brandon Bolden, Marqise Lee, Dan Vitale and Najee Toran.

LaCosse’s absence has been put down to Coronavirus reasons, with his wife Jessica, due to deliver a baby boy in the upcoming NFL season. It would appear that LaCosse is simply not happy to risk anything for his family’s health, and why should he? In 2019, LaCosse started 8 of the 11 games, and while he had an ankle injury to contend with, he still finished the season with 13 recpetions for 132 yards. He even made a touchdown, one more than he’ll be able to make in 2020 thanks to as the players see it, broken promises in terms of testing and health protocols.

Terms agreed for Negreanu vs. Polk Grudge match

It promises to be one of the bitterest battles of the poker year. In the ensuing weeks, two men who used to be friends and are now the best of enemies, Doug Polk and Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu, will go head-to-head for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the kind of bragging rights money can’t buy.

Negreanu, having accepted the terms of the deal to take on Polk, took to a statement to explain how he feels he’s getting the raw end of the agreement:

Polk has taken to Twitter to explain that he has several problems with the statement, questioning the validity of what Negreanu is saying.

Polk and Negreanu clearly share more beef than a Texan slaughterhouse conducting a fire sale but is there any hope of a happy resolution?

Perseverance begins its journey to Mars while SpaceX returns to Earth

If things keep going at this pace, there might be a need to have a traffic cop in outer space. The past weeks have been particularly busy with space travel, with one ship returning to Earth and three others taking off. Those three vessels are on their way to Mars and will arrive in just a little over six months. A fourth spaceship is being prepared to make the journey, but it will have to wait until the next launch window, which won’t occur for another two years. 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now involved in space travel as they successfully launch Al-Amal into space. The ship is headed to the red planet and is joined by Tianwen-1, China’s response to deep-space shuttles. These two are going to arrive at the orbit around Mars to find around 12 other ships already their, circling the planet. 

Al-Amal is going to orbit Mars for around two years as it collects weather data. Tianwen-1 will also orbit, but will also drop a rover down to the planet in order to provide analyses of the surface, as well as to go on a photography mission. The Chinese shuttle is expected to touch down at a spot on Mars called Utopia Planitia, a location first photographed over 30 years ago and which is said to have shown signs of water ice. 

NASA just launched a shuttle to Mars that carries some awesome technology to use on and above the planet’s surface. Perseverance will land at the Jezero Crater, several thousand miles from Utopia Planitia, and will explore the area that is said to have once been a river delta. In addition to Perseverance, Ingenuity, a helicopter/drone will buzz around at low altitudes in order to test the possibility of atmospheric flights. It is expected to only be airborne for a few minutes. 

Wirecard reportedly helped mafia-controlled casino launder money

Regulatory bodies are only as good as those who manage them, and those serving the gaming and financial industries in several countries are apparently not very good. It was known for years that Wirecard, the German payments processor that just went bust with as much as $2 billion (or $3 billion, depending on the source) missing, had been called out for years over questionable dealings in the gaming industry. However, no one was ever willing to take the lead to shut it down, allowing, instead, for it to build up even more confidence that it was untouchable and create more questionable deals. One of those deals was apparently with one the largest, most well-known mafias in Europe, which, according to investigators, used the gaming company CenturionBet to launder money. 

The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, was warned last year about Wirecard’s questionable antics. Three years ago, Germany was warned and, that same year, Malta pulled its gaming license. This year, Chinese regulators slapped the company, through a known subsidiary, with a massive, record-breaking fine of $1.5 billion – money it will most likely never pay. Despite the warning signs, no one listened, and the noncommittal regulators are now paying the price. 

The Financial Times reports that Wirecard was involved in payment processing for CenturionBet until 2017 when the latter lost its license. The gaming company was later found to be led by ’Ndrangheta, a mafia organization operating out of Calabria in southern Italy. The entity is said to be behind “industrial-scale” cocaine movements, extortion, arms smuggling, murder, money laundering and more. It also reportedly has been illicitly involved with one of the largest refugee reception centers in Europe and, as a result, having taken European Union funds that were destined for immigrants arriving to the continent from Africa. 

’Ndrangheta was crippled after 68 people were arrested in an anti-mafia raid. 30 people have already been sentenced for crimes related to the organization’s activity, with more still waiting to stand trial. However, the mafia has not been broken completely, and has since been able to regroup and continue its activities. 

Genting warns first half losses will be significant

Genting Hong Kong just wants you to know: don’t expect any miracles from their first-half financial reports. The operator of casinos and cruise ships made an August 3 filing that set the tone for their upcoming announcement of their losses up to June 30 “will be significantly higher than the corresponding period in 2019.”

While they don’t have the financials to announce just yet, they wrote:

“The anticipated increase in the unaudited consolidated net loss of the Group for the six months ended 30 June 2020 is due to the suspension of operations across the Group’s cruise businesses (being Dream Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises), suspension of shipbuilding operations at MV Werften’s shipyards in Germany, and severely restricted operations and revenue generation at its entertainment and leisure businesses (being Resorts World Manila and Zouk, Singapore).”

The first half of 2019 wasn’t great for Genting, with a $55.2 million loss. Whatever’s coming may indeed be staggering in comparison.

Phil Hellmuth edges out Antonio Esfandiari in opening heads-up duel

The first match of the new PokerGO series High Stakes Duel has seen 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth get the better of Antonio Esfandiari to the tune of $100,000.

Billed as a new show that pits the best poker players against each other in a live heads-up duel until the loser either doubles or quits when the stakes get too high, the first match-up of the series saw Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari taking on Phil ‘The Poker Brat’ Hellmuth. On the line? A massive $100,000 and a whole lot of bragging rights.

High Stakes Duel has already got underway, and what an opening match it was. From the new feature of the ‘weigh-in’ (no actual physical weight recorded) this was always going to be a classic.

Hosted by popular poker professional and WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman, the Weigh-in section essentially featured smack talk from both players culminating in some legendary throwdowns. Yes, we said throwdowns.

MLB players, clubs not following the rules, season shutdown possible

When MLB restarted its season a couple of weeks ago, sports fans, as well as sportsbooks, breathed a collective sigh of relief. After all major sports were called off in March, it was time to get back into the swing of things and a return of sports means a return to a sense of normalcy. It only took a couple of days for the dreams of recovery to be shattered, however, when an unusually high number of baseball players and staffers with the Miami Marlins suddenly tested positive for COVID-19. Less than two weeks later, the number of positive results has soared to 20, but the Marlins aren’t the only team to see an outbreak, and things are getting worse. As MLB explores the reasons why, it has discovered that several teams are treating health protocols as a joke. As a result, there’s a chance that the league might shut down the season entirely, all because a handful of people couldn’t be responsible and mature enough.

In addition to the Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals have also seen at least three positive cases following the revelation that two players were found to have COVID-19. As a result, MLB looked into where the team had been and discovered that a number of players had traveled to a casino, possibly one of those located near Busch Stadium where the team plays. There are two gambling venues within a mile of the stadium. In the case of the Marlins, the players had decided to visit a nightclub. 

As a result of the presence of the coronavirus in these two teams, as well as others, a number of MLB games have already been postponed – 17 and counting. This not only impacts the Marlins and the Cardinals, who have had to alter their schedules, but their opponents and their opponents’ opponents as the entire season schedule is upended. 

According to Steven Souza, Jr., outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, the blame is squarely on the shoulders of those who haven’t been smart enough to follow the rules. He tweeted last Friday, “Every player in this league better take a hard look at what you’re doing off the field, because what you do affects, more than just you and your team. Your decisions off the field will put all of our seasons in jeopardy this year.”

Back to lockdown: Manila casino reopening pushed further down the road

The Manila casino industry is going to have to wait at least two weeks, and probably a lot longer, before it has any hope of reopening. President Rodrigo Duterte, bending to spiking Covid-19 infections and rising calls from the public, has shifted the Metro Manila area from its General Community Quarantine (GCQ) to a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), effectively shutting down most non-essential services once again.

As we covered last week, the President’s office had teased that if the Philippines crossed the 85,000 mark for total infections by the end of August, quarantine restrictions would have to be bolstered. The country then blew past that number, nearing 100,000 infections by the time of Duterte’s Sunday decision, and since passing it.

The decision was made with as much suspense as possible. After the country passed the magic 85 thousand number, it was not clear exactly what would be done about it, and a sudden declaration that over 38,000 patients had been declared recovered, with no testing to prove if they really had recovered, helped to confuse the public further.

This led to a wave of social media protests by the public, lead by nurses and doctors who have been treating Covid-19 patients since March. Those protests factored into the president’s decision, although he was apparently unhappy that he wasn’t told privately. Duterte said:

Colorado could allow higher gambling limits as early as 2021

In many regards, Colorado is a trendsetter. It is often more willing to introduce changes that other states may consider controversial, and with good results. The gaming scene in the state has performed well over the years and, as it introduced sports gambling, Colorado immediately proved how lucrative the activity could be in a very short amount of time. In light of what appears to be a more responsible and mature market that seems to be operating much more efficiently than gambling opponents had anticipated, state residents may vote on allowing higher gambling limits this November. 

A campaign group that wants to increase gambling limits, Local Choice Colorado (LCC), has successfully received enough signatures on a petition to put the question before voters this November. It only needed 124,632 signatures for its measure to be considered, but ultimately picked up over 200,000 that it turned into the office of Colorado’s secretary of state, Jena Griswold. Those signatures have to be validated by the office and, if confirmed, LCC will see its efforts pay off. 

At the center of the measure, Initiative 257, is the manner in which gambling limits, to a certain degree, are controlled. There will always be state-level involvement; however, LCC is asking Colorado voters to give up some of that control and allow the cities that host casinos – Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek – to allow their residents to set the limits. The measure would also give those residents the ability to approve the addition of more gambling options at their discretion. 

If the initiative makes it to the ballot and is subsequently approved, it would pave the way for the biggest changes seen in the gaming space, other than the launch of sports gambling this year, since 2008. Previously, the limit on a single casino bet was $5, and this was raised substantially in 2008 through a voter-approved referendum, Amendment 50, that allowed up to $100 per bet. That same measure facilitated increased operating hours and new gaming options, and had been approved by 59% of the voters who made it to the polls that year. 

Donaco Int’l takes massive hit from COVID-19, Arbuckle officially done

Donaco International has been through some rough patches the past couple of years, and will still have some difficulty moving forward. The casino operator just shared its latest financial report (in pdf) with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), where it’s listed, and painted a pretty grim picture about what has been happening lately. For the most recent quarter, which just wrapped up on June 30, revenue had dropped 95% year-on-year. In addition, the company is now without a designated skipper, as Paul Arbuckle is officially done as of tomorrow, August 4. He had only been CEO at Donaco for six months and announced his departure last December.

Donaco’s filing with the ASX indicates that its quarterly revenue was right at US$642,000, which is way off the $14.45 million it reported for the same period last year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) plummeted, as well, landing in the red at -$2.13 million. A year ago, that figure was $3.41 million on the positive side. 

The cause of the drop should be evident, as it is what has been impacting the casino industry around the world. Explains Donaco, “The June quarter was significantly impacted by the onset of COVVID-19 and the resultant restrictions on casino operations and border closures. The closure of both DNA Star Vegas [in Cambodia] and Aristo International Hotel [in Vietnam] for an extended period of time has had a material impact on Donaco’s operations.”

As a result of the downturn, Donaco is taking measures to cut expenses. It has in its possession cash and cash equivalents that total around $9.11 million, and wants to make sure it doesn’t have to spend more than necessary. Donaco explains that it is exploring initiatives that place “heavy emphasis on tightly controlling and reducing costs and capital expenses” that it hopes will enable to continue to maintain its current monthly burn rate of “approximately US$800,000 to US$900,000.”

Australia’s Tabcorp has a long road to recovery ahead

Australian lottery and gambling operator Tabcorp is finalizing the tally of its performance over the last fiscal year, which just wrapped up on June 30, and doesn’t anticipate being able to give good news. As has been the case with the entire gaming industry around the world, Tabcorp has taken a major hit (in pdf) because of the coronavirus that has led to a decline in activity over the past several months. News that certain parts of Australia have now seen major spikes in the coronavirus aren’t going to help matters, and the new fiscal year will bring even greater challenges that will impede the company’s recovery.

Tabcorp estimates that its net profit for the fiscal year that just completed will only be around US$189.97-$194.24 million. That’s substantially lower than the $281.75 million it reported for prior fiscal year, and mirrors a drop in company EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), as well. Whereas the company saw EBTIDA of $796.88 million in the previous period, the most recent fiscal year could only bring $704.48- $711.6 million in EBITDA. 

David Attenborough, Tabcorp’s CEO and managing director, said in an announcement about the financial forecast, “COVID-19 has materially impacted our Wagering & Media and Gaming Services businesses. We are facing into a challenging and uncertain environment, and the current operating conditions and those expected into the future are relevant factors in assessing the value of the goodwill in those businesses at this time.” However, he believes a rebound is coming and explains, “We remain confident in the strength and resilience of Tabcorp’s diversified portfolio of assets and are pleased that integration is now substantially complete. We are focused on supporting our people and partners during these challenging times while ensuring that Tabcorp emerges strongly post COVID-19.”

Attenborough won’t be around for any potential recovery, as he is exiting the company along with chair Paula Dwyer and non-executive director Steven Gregg. Those changes reportedly come in response to a push by certain shareholder groups that feel the company’s leadership hasn’t been living up to expectations. Dwyer is expected to relinquish her position by the end of this year, and Attenborough is going to depart sometime during the first half of next year. 

Peter McCormack ordered to pay Craig Wright £18.5k as court rejects attempts to delay libel case

This is a guest contribution by Jordan Atkins. Dr. Craig Wright has scored a point in his court battle against Peter McCormack, setting up an important trial that will help prove the former is Satoshi Nakamoto and created Bitcoin. This article first appeared on CoinGeek.com.

The first round in the Wright v McCormack libel bout appears to have gone to Craig Wright, as the U.K. High Court on Thursday rejected attempts by McCormack to delay discovery until after his strike-out application has been heard. Not only that, but the Master Dagnall, the High Court Master hearing the request, has ordered McCormack to pay £18,500 in costs to Wright regarding the application and subsequent hearing, CoinGeek has learned.

McCormack asked the Court to push back the deadline for discovery last week, intimating that he would be filing a late strike-out motion and asking that the discovery deadline be moved until after that application has been heard. Given the lawsuit has been on the books since April 2019, a strike-out motion this close to trial is unusual.

On July 30, the High Court resolutely rejected McCormack’s request to delay discovery. Master Dagnall remarked that to grant McCormack’s request to push discovery back so far would have delayed proceedings very close to the case’s May 4, 2021, trial date, noting that the timetable being proposed by McCormack would have the parties exchanging expert reports on the day the trial is scheduled to begin and calling the proposed delay ‘unsatisfactory’ and ‘not in the interests of justice.’

Triple gold for Kristen Bicknell as Canadian wins WSOP event #44

A superb achievement for the popular Canadian poker player and partypoker pro Kristen Bicknell took place over the weekend as she won her 3rd WSOP gold bracelet in Event #44 of this historic World Series of Poker Online Series.

The $2,500-entry NLHE Six-Max event saw a total of 892 entries, with a prizepool of $2.1 million producing a top prize of $356,412, a prize Bicknell would claim after an incredible comeback victory.

With the event taking nine hours in total, Bicknell’s win came after she went into the final table around the bottom of the chipcounts, showing tenacity to remain in any sort of contention. The action before the final table had seen some big names bust, with players like Jake Schwartz and bubble boy Pete Chen just missing out on the money. Some to survive the bubble but not make it much further included Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, Ben Farrell, Matthias Eibinger and Julien Martini.

There were more high-profile eliminations before the final table was reached, with Danny Tang and Brandon Adams both seeing their chances ended, in the latter case with Adams’ aces cracked by pocket kings. 

The Long Con: Brett Abarbanel discusses UNLV gambling study findings

What are customers prioritizing as the Covid-19 pandemic drags on? With casinos now mostly reopen in the U.S., we can observe and get anecdotal stories, but a real study provides better data to work off of. Thankfully, Brett Abarbanel, Director of Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) international gaming institute has conducted one with the help of KPMG, and she joined our Becky Liggero Fontana for the latest episode of The Long Con.

The study revealed five key takeaways that customers care about most, and safety comes first. “Two-thirds of the people that we surveyed were particularly concerned about health and safety as their number one concern or consideration when they’re talking about coming back to land-based gambling operators, whether that be a card room or a casino or casino resort,” Abarbanel said. “Whereas only about 30 percent of the people that we surveyed said that their financial situation was going to be their number one consideration there, and only about 20 percent indicated that the general economy was a concern for them in terms of coming back to some of these entertainment expenditures.”

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The second takeaway was that just having a clean environment isn’t enough; customers want to see employees doing the work. “79 percent of the people that we surveyed said they actually want to see the measures, don’t just tell me that you’re doing it, don’t issue a press release saying we’re cleaning this x number of times per day and we have this many employees working on our cleanliness features and we’re using this brand to do the cleaning,” she said. “They actually want to see it happening, they want to see the employees out there on the floor wearing the PPE, having their masks on.”